Ran$umBin is a new marketplace on the dark web, which is dedicated to internet criminals and victims of cyber attacks. Monetizing crypto-ransomware attacks has never been much of a problem, according to most, but this platform wants to make things even easier by reducing the risk for the internet criminal.
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Dark Web Marketplace Monetizes Database Breaches For A Fee
As if the looming threat of crypto-ransomware is not annoying enough to deal with, things have become a whole lot easier for Internet criminals looking to make some quick money. Ran$umBin was created for this exact purpose, as this dark web marketplace is a one-stop shop for monetizing stolen data.
The way Ran$umBin works is by letting internet criminals upload stolen data – regardless of what type – and victims can pay for the removal of this information from the dark web. This should, in a twisted way, prevent the stolen data from being sold to other online Internet criminals. Sounds like a noble cause on paper, but it really is not.
As one would come to expect from such a service, Ran$umBin will take a cut of the fee paid for every transaction. However, the commission percentage is based on who the original data belongs to, and higher value data will invoke a higher commission percentage. Rather than dealing with victims of their hacking activities directly, internet criminals can direct the original data owners to this dark web platform to make the payment. Bitcoin is an accepted form of payment, which should not surprise that many people.
Although the Ran$umBin team sees themselves as a “responsible party for the safety and privacy of their users”, there is nothing preventing Internet criminals from extorting the same victim over and over. In fact, the platform has a rule that would prevent the same user from being extorted more than ten times, which is not reassuring at all..
To make matters even worse, platforms such as Ran$umBin create new opportunities for crypto-ransomware distributors. This can remove the need for C&C servers entirely, as the Internet criminal can sell the decryption key on this platform without dealing with “customers” directly. With no information as to who runs this platform, it will be hard for law enforcement officials to shut Ran$umBin down anytime soon.
What are your thoughts on this new dark web marketplace? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Dark Reading
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